Grimes v. Boone ( 1999 )

F I L E D
United States Court of Appeals
Tenth Circuit
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
JUL 6 1999
TENTH CIRCUIT
_________________________________ PATRICK FISHER
Clerk
FRANKIE L. GRIMES,
Plaintiff-Appellant,
v. No. 98-7182
(D.C. No. 97-CV-712)
BOBBY BOONE, Warden of the Mack (E.D. Okla.)
Alford Correctional Center; BRUCE
HOWARD, Deputy Warden at Mack
Alford Correctional Center; BETH
LEADER, D.O., Doctor of Osteopathy
at Mack Alford Correctional Center
a/k/a Dr. Leader; T. Q. PHAM, M.D.,
Oriental Doctor at Mack Alford
Correctional Center; MARCUS
POGUE, Chief of Medical Services at
Mack Alford Correctional Center;
STEVE SNIDER, Food Service
Manager at Mack Alford Correctional
Center; and JIM RUTHERFORD,
Food Service Supervisor at Mack
Alford Correctional Center,
Defendants-Appellees.
_______________________________
ORDER AND JUDGMENT *
______________________________
*This order and judgment is not binding precedent, except under the
doctrines of law of the case, res judicata, and collateral estoppel. The court
generally disfavors the citation of orders and judgments; nevertheless, an order
and judgment may be cited under the terms and conditions of 10th Cir. R. 36.3.
Before TACHA, McKAY, and MURPHY, Circuit Judges.
_______________________________
After examining the briefs and appellate record, this panel has determined
unanimously that oral argument would not materially assist the determination of
this appeal. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2); 10th Cir. R. 34.1(G). The case is
therefore ordered submitted without oral argument.
Plaintiff-Appellant Frankie L. Grimes appeals the district court’s dismissal
of his civil rights complaint. Plaintiff, proceeding pro se, brought this action on
December 9, 1997, pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. He claimed that conduct by
prison officials relating to his health amounted to cruel and unusual punishment
in violation of the Eighth Amendment, and he sought both monetary and
injunctive relief. The district court entered a stay of proceedings and ordered
prison officials to investigate Plaintiff’s complaint and submit a report pursuant
to Martinez v. Aaron, 570 F.2d 317 (10th Cir. 1978), together with an answer or
other dispositive motion. On July 13, 1998, Defendants filed the Martinez report
along with a motion to dismiss or, in the alternative, a motion for summary
judgment. On November 16, 1998, the district court entered a minute order
granting the Motion to Dismiss/Motion for Summary Judgment because Plaintiff
failed to timely reply under the Eastern District of Oklahoma’s Local Rule 7.1(B).
See E.D. Okla. R. 7.1(B) (requiring a pleading or a response to a motion to be
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filed within fifteen days). The court subsequently denied Plaintiff’s motion for
reconsideration and his request for appointment of counsel, but it granted
Plaintiff’s motion to proceed in forma pauperis on appeal.
Although the trial court did not err in dismissing for failure to timely reply,
we examine the merits of Plaintiff’s claims. Plaintiff reasserts the arguments he
made to the district court and claims that his untimeliness should be excused
because he misunderstood the effect of the order staying proceedings.
In the motions to the district court and on appeal, Defendants have asserted
several bases for dismissal, including the statute of limitations; res judicata;
qualified immunity and Eleventh Amendment immunity; and failure to state a
claim upon which relief may be granted. While each of the defenses appears to
have merit, we reach only the last one. Even after construing Plaintiff’s pro se
complaint liberally, see Riddle v. Mondragon, 83 F.3d 1197, 1202 (10th Cir.
1996), we conclude that he has failed to state a claim upon which relief may be
granted and that his complaint is legally frivolous. At most, Plaintiff alleges
misdiagnosis of his medical complaints, but he comes nowhere near alleging the
deliberate indifference required by Estelle v. Gamble, 429 U.S. 97, 104 (1976), to
establish an Eighth Amendment violation based on inadequate medical care.
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The decision of the district court is AFFIRMED.
Entered for the Court
Monroe G. McKay
Circuit Judge
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